Gabriel Loppé (FRENCH, 1825–1913)

As a young man Loppé climbed a mountain in the Languedoc, where he found painters capturing the summit en plein air. This moment would define the rest of his career. He is considered to be the first painter to work at higher altitudes during climbing expeditions. In 1870, he built his own studio in Chamonix, which later became the Loppé museum. From 1881 he spent winters in Paris, and he regularly exhibited in London. An avid mountaineer himself, he painted mountains, peaks and lakes in modulated light.